SHAYKH AL ISLAM

Chapters 35 - 41

(35) Answer to a university student
(36) The soul and the body are the opposites of each other
(37) How not to forget Allahu ta'ala even for a moment?
(38) Fana and baqa, and the five latifas
(39) Metempsychosis does not exist. Alam al-Misal
(40) The blessings of Amr al-Maruf, Nahy al-Anil Munkar and Jihad
(41) Those who do not perform their worships at their due times

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Chapters (42 - 60) in  Articles (4)

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TAM ILMIHAL Se'adet-i EBEDIYYE

Endless Bliss    Fascicle - 1

PREFACE

Here is the key to the treasure of eternity:

Bismi'llahi'rrahmani'rrahim.

Saying the A'udhu (A'udhu billahi min-ash- shaitan-ir-rajim) and the Basmala (Bismillah-ir- Rahman-ir-Rahim), I begin to write the book Se'adet-i Ebediyye (Endless Bliss). Abdullah ibni 'Abbas (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) says, Rasulullah (Muhammad [salla Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam]) declared, "Respecting the Qur'an is beginning to read it by saying the A'udhu, and the key to the Qur'an is the Basmala." I, therefore, request my readers to begin our book by saying these two phrases. Thus, you will have embellished the book with two ornaments and will have attained the blessings that have been accumulated in these two treasures for the Beloved to get! Those who want to approach Allahu ta'ala must hold tightly to the A'udhu, and those who fear Him must throw themselves upon the A'udhu. Those with many sins have trusted themselves to the A'udhu, and fugitives have looked for relief in the A'udhu. Allahu ta'ala commands His Prophet in the 97 th ayat of surat an-Nahl, "Say the A'udhu when you are to read the Qur'an." It means, "Pray for yourself by saying 'I trust myself to Allahu ta'ala, take refuge in Him, trust myself to, and cry out and wail Him against the devil, who is far from Allah's mercy and who, incurring His wrath, was cursed in this and the next worlds.' "

Our Prophet (salla Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has declared, "When the teacher says Basmala to the child and the child repeats it, Allahu ta'ala has a voucher written down lest the child and his parents and his teacher go to Hell." Abdullah ibni Masud (radi-Allahu 'anh) says, "He who wants to escape from the 19 angels who will torment him in the next world, should say the Basmala." The Basmala consists of 19 letters. It is the Basmala that was written first in the Lawh al-Mahfuz (1). It is the Basmala that descended to Hadrat Adam first. Muslims will pass the Sirat (2) with the help of the Basmala. The Basmala is the signature on the invitation to Paradise. Here the meaning of the Basmala is "I am able to write this book with the aid of Allahu ta'ala who has done favors to every being by creating it, by keeping it in existence and by protecting it against annihilation. The 'arifs (3) knew Him as the ilah. Beings found food through His mercy. Sinners are saved from Hell through His pitying." Allahu ta'ala has begun the Qur'an al-Karim with these three names of His because man has three states, namely his state in the world, in the grave, and in the Hereafter. If man worships Allahu ta'ala, He facilitates his works in the world, pities him in the grave, and forgives his sins in the Hereafter.

Alhamdulillah! If any person thanks any other person in any manner, for anything, at any place, at any time, all this thanks belongs to Allahu ta'ala. For He is the one who always creates, trains and develops everything, who causes every favor to be done, and who sends every goodness. He alone is the owner of strength and power. Unless He gives us thought, nobody can will or desire to do good or evil. After man receives the thought, he can will to do something, but unless Allah wills and gives strength and opportunity to that thought, nobody can do one bit of kindness or evil to anybody. Everything that man wants, happens when He wills and decrees it. Only what He wills happens. He sends us the thoughts of doing good or evil for various reasons. When His born servants (men) whom He pities wish to do evil, He does not will or create it. goodness always arises from such people. He, too, wills to create the evil wills of His enemies, with whom He is angry. Since these evil people do not wish to do something virtuous, evils always arise from them. In other words, all people are a means, a tool. They are like the pen in the writer's hand. Only using their Irada-i juziyya (partial will) that has been bestowed upon them, those who will goodness earn blessings, while those willing evil to be created become sinful. Allahu ta'ala willed in pre-eternity to create the deeds of people through their will power. Creation of these deeds through people's will power means that they are created by the pre-eternal Irada-i ilahi (Divine Will).

May all prayers and blessings be upon Muhammad Mustafa (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam), who is His Prophet and the most beloved of His born servants, and who is in every respect the most beautiful and the most exalted of all the mankind that ever lived. May prayers and blessings also be upon the highest of people, his Ahl al-bayt, on his Ashab (Ridwanullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) and on those who love them and follow them.

I received my elementary education at Rashadiya Numuna School in Ayyub Sultan, in my home town of Istanbul. I acquired religious training and religious knowledge in my home and in elementary school. As I was beginning my education in Halijioglu Military Junior and Senior High School, the Qur'an al-Karim and religious lessons were being abrogated from schools. None of our teachers taught religious lessons. I regarded my teachers as great, mature, and I wanted to respect them highly. But I was disappointed to see them attacking my sacred beliefs. I vacillated between belief and disbelief. Pondering with my young brain, I scrutinized all the information which I had learned as religious knowledge. I saw that all of it was useful, good, valuable, and I couldn't sacrifice any of it. I remained between these two influences for six years. My friends, who and I had been fasting and performing ritual prayers of salat a few years earlier, were deceived by the slanders of the teachers and newspapers, and they gave up worshipping. Left alone, I was all the more confused. I wondered if I were wrong, if I were on a wrong path. In 1929, I was eighteen years old and in the last year of high school. It was the Qadr Night, and we had gone to bed. I couldn't sleep. I jumped out of my bed, confused. I was alone in my thoughts, in my iman (belief); I was uneasy; I was utterly exhausted. I went out into the yard. The sky was full of stars. Against the shrine of Hadrat Khalid ibni Zayd Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the sparkling waves of the Golden Horn sounded as if to tell me. "Don't worry, you are right." I sobbed and cried. I entreated my Allah. "Oh my Allah! I believe in Thee, I love Thee and Thine prophets. I want to learn Islamic knowledge. Protect me from being deceived by the enemies of my religion!" Allah accepted this innocent and sincere supplication of mine. I dreamt of Hadrat Abdulhakim-i Arwasi, the treasure of karamats and marifats (4), an ocean of knowledge, and later I met him in a mosque. He welcomed and invited me. While I was in the Faculty of Pharmacology, I attended his lectures in Bayazid Mosque three times a week. Afterward, I would go to his home. He pitied me. He taught me sarf, nahw (Arabic grammar), logic and fiqh (commands and prohibitions of Islam). He read to me and taught me many books. Also, he had me subscribe to the French newspaper Le Matin. He taught me Arabic and Persian. He had me memorize "The Eulogy of Amali" and The Poems of Khalid-i Baghdadi. His company was so sweet, so useful that many a day I stayed with him from morning till midnight. Today, the moments which I live recollecting those days in his company are the happiest moments of my life. Until 1936, while a tutor in the Military Medical School, I both attended the Masters of Science classes of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and at the same time gathered knowledge and ultimate benefits from the preachings and from the company of that Islamic scholar. The dirt of disbelief in my heart was cleared off. I realized that Islam was the one and only source of happiness both in this world and the next. I saw that the persons whom I formerly had deemed great were like children when compared to Islamic scholars. I understood that some of the things which they described as knowledge were quite far from knowledge, science, and were nothing but enmity against Islam, full of grossly made-up plans and slanders. After 1936, when I was in charge of Mamak Chemical Laboratory, he told me to learn German and read The Maktubat of Imam-i Rabbani 'quddisa sirruh' continuously. At every opportunity I came to Istanbul and picked pearls and corals in that ocean of marifat. After the setting of that sun of knowledge, I was accepted to the private class of his blessed son, the virtuous Sayyid Ahmad Makki, the Mufti of Scutary and later of Kadikoy. With great mercy and proficiency, he trained me in fiqh, tafsir (interpretation of the Qur'an), hadith, ma'qul (knowledge which can be acquired by means of the intellect, i.e. science), manqul (religious knowledge), usul (methods and basic facts), furu' (a branch of Islamic knowledge) and he graduated me with full authorization on Sunday, 27 th Ramadan 1373 [1953 A.D.].

After 1947, during my teaching career, I strove to pour my knowledge, which was like a drop of water from an ocean, into the souls of the youth, and to instill this knowledge in their fresh brains blooming like buds. From the light of iman (belief) burning inside me, I wished to throw a spark into the pure heart of each of them. Alhamdulillah! Allah gave me the facilities, and in 1956, it fell to my lot to publish the first volume of Se'adet-i Ebediyye, which I had prepared after many years of hard work. It was only a few pages, but it was filled with very useful information as is the sweet and healing honey collected from fragrant flowers.

That little book, prepared according to the Hanafi madhhab, had not been advertised in newspapers or magazines, nor had it notices all over walls. The book had been delivered to the shelves of a small corner bookshop. Noble-souled and faithful youngsters, who would not depart from the luminous and auspicious way of their ancestors, who always yearned to learn their faith, looked for this little book and found it. They rushed on it, and, in a short time, not even one copy was left.

The innocent children of those martyrs and ghazis (fighters for Islam), who many years ago had won the war of independence by fighting like infuriated lions against the enemies who attacked their motherland, today also, are following their fathers' path with the same love and faith. And, likewise, they are striving to protect their iman as well as their independence against every sort of aggression. They run towards right, reality, and truth. They cling to the Qur'an al-Karim.

History reveals to us the cruelties and evil ways of kings and the dictators who attacked Islam in order to conceal their massacres and perfidy, and who wanted to deceive everyone for the sake of their own comfort and pleasure. Cruel enemy commanders and bigoted armies of the crusaders were always thwarted by Muslim Turkish heroes. Being unable to pass over the iman-filled chests of our ancestors, they fled, leaving their weapons and their dead behind.

History shows again that Islam has been the inspiration for developing more intellectual and more courageous people, who in turn develop superior, more up-to-date, and more scientific means of war and other civilized apparatuses. The irreligious have always been left behind in knowledge, in science, in arms and in courage. Every Islamic army succeeded when Shariat (the commands and prohibitions of the religion) was followed in every respect, but a relative decrease in success was witnessed in the soldiers and the commanders of the same army when they deviated from religion. The establishment, the improvement, the decline and fall of every Muslim State has always been closely related to their adherence to the religion.

Irreligious dictators have bloodstained their hands and dominated lands, and by oppressing the people with cruelty and instigation and by employing them like animals, they have established heavy industries of war, tremendous factories, made superior weapons and threatened the world. Yet, in the course of history, they all fell very soon and have always been remembered with curses. Their traps, set quickly like a spider's web, were blown away by even the slightest power, like the fresh morning breeze. They left behind nothing for humanity. And now, however great and powerful the states which are based on irreligiousness might seem, they will certainly fall; cruelty won't endure. Such disbelievers are like a match, which will flare up suddenly and set fire to light things such as straw and sawdust. It may burn the hand and probably destroy houses, yet it will soon go out and perish itself. As for those administrations based on Islam; they are like the radiators of a central heating unit. The radiator does not burn anything. By heating the rooms, it gives comfort to people. Its heat is not excessive or harmful, yet it possesses a source of heat and energy. Likewise, Islam is like a useful source of energy. It nourishes and strengthens individuals, families and societies clinging to it.

The mercy, the favors, and the blessings of Allahu ta'ala are so great that they are actually unlimited. Because He felt pity for His born servants, He revealed through an angel to His Prophets the good deeds to be done and the evil deeds to be avoided. He also revealed the holy books wherein His orders were sent to them so that they could live on the earth brotherly, happily and in comfort, and thereby attain eternal happiness, and the endless blessings of the Hereafter. Only the Qur'an al-karim has remained uncorrupted, but all the other books were changed by malevolent people. The more you observe the fards (obligatory duties) and harams (prohibitions), that is, the principles (ahkam) in the Qur'an al-karim, the happier and the more comfortable a life you can lead, no matter whether you are an atheist or not, a believer or not, aware or not. This is similar to the fact that a good medicine enables everybody to get rid of his pain and problem, if it is used. That is why those who are non-Muslims, or even atheists, and some nations that are the enemies of Islam are successful in many of their businesses, and lead a very happy and comfortable life by working in conformity with the laws in the Qur'an al-karim. On the other hand, many people who claim to be Muslim, and who do their worships as a mere formality, are living in misery and discomfort because they do not follow the divine rules and the high morality written in the Qur'an al-karim. To attain eternal happiness in the Hereafter by following the Qur'an al-karim, it is necessary to believe in it first, and then to follow it consciously and intentionally.

Those who are against Islam because of ignorance, learned from the bloody, dismal experiences they had for centuries that unless their iman was demolished, it would be impossible to demolish the Muslim people. They attempted to misrepresent Islam as hostile towards knowledge, science and bravery, while, in fact, it is the protector of such things, encouraging every kind of progress and improvement. They aimed at depriving the young generations of knowledge and faith, thus shooting them on the moral front. They spent millions for this purpose. Some ignorant people, whose weapons of knowledge and belief had been rusted and who had been seized by their ambitions and sexual desires, were easily destroyed by these attacks of the enemies. A section of them took shelter behind their posts and professions, pretended to be Muslims, disguised themselves as scientific men, authorities and religious scholars, and even, protectors of Muslims, while continuing to steal the belief of innocent youngsters. They misrepresented evil as talent, and irreligiousness as a virtue, a current fashion. Those who had faith, iman, were called fanatics, bigots, retrogressive. Religious knowledge and the valuable books of Islam were said to be reactionary, retrogressive and bigoted. By imputing the immorality and dishonorableness, which they themselves had, to Muslims and to great men of Islam, they strove to slander those noble people and sow discord between children and their fathers. In the meantime, they spoke ill of our history, attempted to blacken its shining and honorable pages, to blemish the accurate writings, to change the events and proofs of it and sever the youth from faith and belief so as to annihilate Islam and Muslims. In order to untie the sacred bonds which placed into young hearts the love of our ancestors, whose fame and honor had spread throughout the world, owing to their knowledge, science, beautiful morals, virtue and bravery, and to leave the youth deprived of and alien to the maturity and greatness of their ancestors, they attacked hearts, souls and conscience. In fact, the corrupted Muslims could not understand that as Islam was becoming weaker and as we got further away from the path of Rasulullah (Muhammad) 'sall-Allahu alaih wa sallam', not only were our morals corrupted, but we also gradually lost our superiority in making every kind of means, and in understanding contemporary knowledge, which this century requires. We could no longer maintain the accomplishments of our ancestors in military defense, in science and arts, instead we got worse. Thus, these masked disbelievers tried, on the one hand, to cause us to remain behind in knowledge and science, and, on the other hand, they said, "Islam caused us to remain behind. In order to catch the Western industries, we have to abolish this black curtain and get rid of the oriental religion, laws of the desert." In this way, they demolished our material and spiritual values, and brought upon our country the harm which the enemies outside had been wishing for but had not been able to do for centuries.

Allah has given all people numerous benefits and blessings. As the greatest, the best of these, He has sent down prophets and messengers and has shown the way to eternal happiness, declaring in sura Ibrahim, ayat 7 (interpreted as follows): "If you appreciate the value of My gifts and if you use them as I command, I will increase them. If you don't appreciate them, if you abhor them, I will take them back and torture you vehemently." The reason why Islam has been in such a deplorable state for a century - especially recently, it has gone quite far away, leaving the world covered with the darkness of disbelief and apostasy - is solely because of Muslims not appreciating the blessings of Islam, and thereby turning away from them.

As Allahu ta'ala employs those whom He loves as intermediaries for auspicious deeds, so He employs at evil places those who bear hostility towards Him. Those who cause loss of Islamic blessings are of two groups:

In the first group are disbelievers who divulge their disbelief and hostility. They strive to demolish Islam by using all their armed forces, their means of propaganda, and political tricks. Muslims know them and struggle to be superior to them.

The second group of disbelievers refer to themselves as Muslims, pretend to be Muslims, introduce themselves as religious men and try to turn Islam into a shape conformable to their opinions, pleasures and sexual desires. They want to make up a new religion under the name of Islam. They try to prove their words correct through tricks and lies, and deceive Muslims with their fluent expressions. Yet, although most Muslims recognize these enemies from some of their statements and activities intended to destroy Islam, because they are very well organized, some of their sayings have become current and widespread among Muslims. The Islamic faith has been gradually degenerating and turning into the shape planned by these disbelievers.

Also, some others say, "In order that we may survive in the present century, we should be westernized ourselves altogether. This statement has two connotations. Firstly, it means learning and adopting what the Europeans have invented in science, art, in the mediums of improvement and progress, and to strive to utilize them, as Islam commands. I explained in some parts of my books with documents that this is fard kifaya to learn. As a matter of fact, a hadith of Rasul-i akram (the Prophet) states: "Hikmat (that is science and art) is the lost property of the Muslims. Let him take it wherever he finds it!" Yet, this is not following the Europeans; it is finding and acquiring knowledge and science even from them and striving to be superior to them. The second type of westernization involves abandoning the righteous and sacred ways of our ancestors; accepting all the traditions, customs, immoralities, and obscenities of the West; and also accepting their irreligiousness and idolatry, and thus convert mosques into churches or museums of ancient art, which is the most dismal stupidity of all. Calling Islam an "oriental religion," a "backward religion" and the Qur'an "laws of the desert" while at the same time referring to idolatry and the mixing of music with worship as "western, modern, and civilized religion" is in fact an act of abandoning Islam, turning to Christianity, and worshipping with musical instruments.

The enemies of Islam should know very well that the noble blood circulating in the veins of these people will not be westernized in this sense, neither today nor in the days to which they look forward to. And our people will not become communists or let the sacred beliefs of their ancestors be trodden underfoot.

Another force trying to demolish Islam is those books and magazines which appear to be written for the purpose of spreading Islam and silencing the enemies of the religion. But when these religiously ignorant people, who know nothing about iman and Islam and who have not comprehended the reality, the inner spirit, the delicacy of tasawwuf (sufism), become authorities in worldly affairs, they assume themselves to be religious scholars; and they write religious books in order to propagate the things which they wrongfully consider to be Islam, or solely to earn money out of it. It is seen with utter grief in these books of theirs that they cannot understand the words of great men of religion, and that, as a result, they write most of the delicate information erroneously. They introduce some la-madhhabi people and religion reformers, who have sprung up in some countries, as Islamic scholars, alims. Their books are translated and presented to youngsters as a source of religious knowledge. But, in fact, these books are destructive and divisive as a result of being written by those who are ignorant and have heretical ideas. They ignorantly and foolishly slander our brothers in order to prevent the publication and distribution of our books, which teach and elucidate how harmful, corrupt, and disgraceful they are. Also, we prevent them from making money, and from exploiting millions of people. We hear that those, the hypocrites, who sell the religion for worldly benefits claim that we have been practicing tariqat, which is an ugly slander against us. They try to make us guilty in front of the law so that our books will be prohibited officially. However, nothing has been written about the tariqat in any of my books. Yes, there is information about the tariqat in my books, but these are translations from the books of some scholars of tasawwuf (sufism), who lived in previous centuries. Or, rather, we too are trying to read and understand them. I have never had any relations with a tariqat or a shaikh.

It is true that I myself saw a real Islamic scholar. I had the honor of learning the essence of Islam and the highest Islamic knowledge from him. He was like an ocean of Islamic, scientific and historical knowledge. Seeing his great moral character, which originated from Islam, I had enormous respect for him. I never heard this noble person say anything to imply that he had to do with being a shaikh or murid. He was constantly warning us that some practitioners of the tariqats, whose names had been being heard of before and after the closing of Darwish convents, were not following Islam or the knowledge of tasawwuf, and that they were dangerous. Today, books of tasawwuf are being written in many languages throughout the world. Under the guise of sufism, it is a crime to derive personal benefits from the false and bad practices that are not tasawwuf. It is not a crime to write tasawwuf books, or to praise the knowledge of tasawwuf. The alims of tasawwuf rejected the owners of this type of tariqat and informed people that they were thieves of religion and that they were ruining Islam itself. I, myself, say in my books and lectures, "A Muslim should not violate the law. It is haram to cause fitna." Would a person advocating this do anything against the law? It is understood, then, that those jealous people, who are my slanderers, mistook me as a munafiq (hypocrite) like themselves. They are absolutely wrong. I do not use the word "munafiq" here to mean kafir, but rather I mean those who are two-faced and whose interiors are not the same as their exteriors. Also, it is written in the book Hadiqa, in the section on the afats (harms) of the tongue, that this type of nifaq (speech), which is done by talking or with the tongue, is not kufr (disbelief), yet it is haram. These poor people butter the bread of the enemies of Islam on purpose or inadvertently and cause more harm to Islam than their oppressors. The unsuspecting Muslims who read their books and booklets, or magazines, especially the innocent youngsters thirsty to learn the sacred faith of their noble and brave ancestors, deem them religious scholars and embrace their aberrant, wrong writings, supposing them to be embodiments of faith and belief. The ignorant people who exploit our holy din as a tool to earn money, position, rank and fame, in short, who try to gain worldly advantages, are called Ulama-i su', that is, yobaz (a seditious person), ill-natured scholars. These ill-natured people and those pseudo-scientists, that is, zindiqs who pose as scholastic scientists, misrepresent true scientific knowledge with their own treacherous ideas. Thus, they try to demolish and pull down Islam. These people hurt this nation a great deal. They instigated enmity between brothers. They caused civil wars. The Islamic religion commands us to be united, to love and help one another, to obey the government and the laws (not to cause fitna, that is, anarchy), to take care of and to protect even the rights of disbelievers, and not to hurt anybody. Our ancestors sacrificed their worldly comforts and advantages, and in order to protect the faith and belief of their descendants, they wrote precious books and left them as an inheritance to us. We should learn our holy faith by reading the sincere and virtuous books written by the blessed hands of our famed and honorable ancestors, whose beautiful morals, justice, diligence, and whose records in art, science, and bravery are written about in shining letters in the world's history. They had also shed their blood for our faith, lest the enemy's hands might touch it, and they left all these precious writings in their original purity as an inheritance to us. We have to be very careful not to be deceived and not to let our sacred iman be seized by reading the poisonous propaganda of irreligiousness veiled in adorned words written by enemy pens! Let me also inform you that Hadith ash-Sharifs and explanations of Islamic 'alims (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) strongly prohibit the interference of men of religion in matters of politics. Ahl as-sunnat 'alims observed this prohibition very carefully. Muslims don't exploit the din as a tool for politics. Therefore, I have never entered politics. I haven't defended any type of political state in any of my writings. It has reached my ears that there have been people who, disliking this behavior of mine, try to prevent people from reading and learning my books by calling them corrupt, and who then are bewildered and unable to answer when they are questioned about which part of the books are corrupt. I make a dua (pray) for those who slander me so that they may wake up from their stupor and attain true guidance.

With the encouragement of those who read my book Se'adet-i Ebediyye, which consisted of sixty pages and thirty chapters, I have prepared the second volume in three hundred pages, and I had it printed in 1957. These two volumes aroused so much interest and attraction among the innocent youngsters towards Islam that I experienced a shower of questions. To answer these various questions by translating from current books and by adding seventy new chapters to the original thirty chapters of the first volume, the second edition was formed and printed in four hundred pages. Later by the blessing of Allahu ta'ala, and with exhausting labor, the accomplishment of the third volume was granted by Allah, and it was printed in 1379 [1960 A.D.].

Though I was not authorized, only as a reward for my admiration of the dumbfounding superiority of Islamic scholars, for the love and respect which I had towards them, and as a reward for the prayers which I have sent with the utmost suffering in my heart so that these innocent people, these noble youngsters might escape the traps set by religion brokers and attain worldly happiness and the happiness pertaining to the next world, these three books, which were formed with the guidance of Allahu ta'ala, were put together and printed as a single book in 1963. This book was named Tam ilm-i hal. As new questions were asked, new additions were made in every new edition of our book. In this book there is no knowledge, no idea which belongs to this faqir, myself. Besides translating and gathering, nothing else fell to my lot. I am so grateful to see that those who read this book enjoy it and benefit from it, because it comprises writings of great and blessed people, and that they escape the deceptions of the separatists and the non-madhhabite, who have been attacking and slandering my books. Thus, I am pleased to think I shall benefit from the accepted prayers of the pure-spirited, noble-blooded, and blessed youngsters, and I deem this book and these prayers my one and only stock on the Day of Resurrection.

The fiqh information in my book Se'adet-i Ebediyye, that is, Tam Ilmihal (a perfect book of Ilm-i hal [Endless Bliss]), has been written according to the Hanafi Madhhab and was translated from the book Radd-ul-Mukhtar by Muhammad Amin ibn 'Abidin, which was published in Egypt by the Bulag printing house in 1272/1856 in five volumes, and the quotations' page numbers in my book refer to that edition. The book Radd-ul-mukhtar, the most dependable reference book among the fiqh books in the Hanafi Madhhab, was translated into Turkish by dear Ahmad Davudoglu and published in thirteen volumes by the Shamil Bookstore between the years 1982-1986. There is no translation of Ayat-i karimas (Quranic verses) but only their explanations. When a mujtahid explained concisely what he understood from an ayat, this explanation is called a meal. When an ayat is said word for word in any foreign language, it is called a translation. Ayat-i karimas cannot be translated into concise and proper forms. Islamic 'alims tried to explain Ayat-i karimas by using long tafsirs, not by translating. In my book, I have mostly used explanations from Tafsir-i Husaini. I have placed the sequence of the numbers of the Ayat-i karimas as they appear in the mushaf by Khattat Hafiz 'Uthman (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih).

He who reads this book will accurately learn the faith of his ancestors; he will not be taken in by the slanders of the enemies of the religion; he will escape from the superstitions of the ignorant and from the material and spiritual exploitation of those who poison the names of sufis (the great men of tasawwuf). They will be united on the right path and will become beloved brothers of one another.

A Muslim is the one who is an honest and serious-minded man. A true Muslim always carries out the orders of Allahu ta'ala. It would be a sin if we did not obey even one of the orders of Allahu ta'ala. A Muslim tries to pay the rights a human has on him, and also his debts to the state. He never resists the laws of his state. It would be a crime to violate the laws of one's state. A Muslim commits neither sins nor crimes. He loves his country, nation and his flag. He does favors to everybody. He gives good advice to those who act wrongly. Such Muslims are loved both by Allahu ta'ala and by His born servants. They lead a happy and peaceful life.

The forty-eighth edition of all three volumes of the Turkish version of Se'adet-i Ebediyye and the eighth edition of the English version of its major sections in the five fascicles has now been printed. There are ninety-eight chapters in the first volume, seventy-two chapters in the second volume and seventy in the third volume. Of these two hundred and forty (240) chapters, one hundred and eight (108) chapters have been compiled from Maktubat, Vol. II and III by Imam-i Rabbani mujaddid-i alf-i Thani, Ahmad-i Faruqi, a great Islamic alim, a source of knowledge for tasawwuf and spiritual pleasures, a real spiritual heir of Muhammad (alaihis'-salam), and 132 chapters from the books of authorized Islamic scholars. The complete first volume of Maktubat was translated into Turkish by Mustaqimzada Sulaiman Sadaddin Effendi. I thanked my Allah by seeing to it that the Waqf Ikhlas Co. published it under the name of Mujdeci Mektublar (Letters of Glad-tidings). I have heard As-Sayyid Abdulhakim-i Arwasi, an ocean of Islamic science and an expert of marifats of tasawwuf, say many times, "The highest of the Islamic books after the Holy Qur'an and the books of hadith is the book Maktubat by Imam-i Rabbani." and "No other book as valuable as the Maktubat by Imam-i Rabbani was written in the Islamic world." Actually, the book Mathnawi is the most unique of those books explaining the greatness of wilayat. However, the book Maktubat is superior to it in explaining the greatness of wilayat and nubuwwat. Concerning the greatness of both, wilayat seems to be nothing in comparison to nubuwwat. The nine hundred and ninety-nine names written in the book, with their biographies, have been appended to the original Endless Bliss (Se'adet-i Ebediyye).

This is a book of knowledge. Islamic knowledge has its own terminology like other branches of science. The meanings of those technical words have been explained in the book when needed. You will have learned them after you have read the book completely. The knowledge in this book cannot be understood by an ignorant person who does not strive to learn these words. In that case, he has no right to claim that "this book is incomprehensible" because it is his own fault. "An ignorant person does not like what he cannot comprehend" is a common saying. A rose is appreciated by nightingales only. A jeweler can recognize pure gold. A chemist can discover what minerals are in a stone. We should try to comprehend well the meaning of each of its sentences, repeat each chapter, and fix its outline into memory. We should teach it to our children, to our acquaintances. We should study and improve in this way. Our Prophet (Muhammad [sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam]) said, "He who has remained in the same state for two days, (that is, he who has not improved,) has made a mistake; he is suffering a loss." It is seen that the Islamic religion rejects not only retrogression but also stagnation. It always commands us to make progress, to improve. All the thawab that will be gained as a reward for the preparation and publication of this book and all the benedictions that will be pronounced by Muslims who will read this book I donate as a gift to the blessed soul of Sayyid Abdulhakim Arwasi. I know it as a source of happiness for myself to a slave of his accompanying him on the Day of Judgement.

WAQF IKHLAS

Miladi (1993)
Hijri Shamsi (1372)
Hijri Kamari (1414)

Courtesy of Hizmet Books (1998)

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ENDLESS BLISS

Obeying Hadrat Muhammad (Salla Allahu alayhi wa Sallam) brings one happiness

FIRST FASCICLE

CHAPTER 1

May Allahu ta'ala honor us all with the prosperity of following Muhammad Mustafa (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam), who is the spiritual Master of this and the next world and who is the highest of all the people in every respect. Because Allahu ta'ala likes those who obey and follow him, a tiny act of following him is more exalted than all the worldly advantages and all the blessings of the next world. Real superiority consists of adapting oneself to his sunnat, and the honor and virtue of humanity entails following his Shariat. [The word sunnat has three different meanings. In this context, it means the Shariat.]

[Adapting oneself to him, or following him, is following the way on which he has guided us. His way is the way shown by the Qur'an al-karim. This way is called Din-i Islam. In order to adapt ourselves to him, we should first have iman (belief); then learn Islam well; then carry out the fard (farz) and abstain from the haram; and then fulfill the sunnat and abstain from the makruh. After all these, we should also try to follow him in what is mubah.]

It is essential for everyone to have iman; iman is necessary for everybody. Those who have iman should carry out the fards and abstain from the harams. Every Mumin (Believer) is obliged to carry out the fards and abstain from the harams, that is, to be a Muslim. Every Mumin loves our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) more than his own life and property. A symptom of this love is to carry out the sunnat and abstain from the makruh. After following all of these, the more a Muslim adapts himself to him in what is mubah, the more perfect and the more mature will he become. He will become all the closer and more beloved to Allahu ta'ala.

It is called Iman to like and to admit sincerely, that is, to believe, all of what Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said. Those who believe so are called Mumin. It is called Kufr not to believe even one piece of what he said, and to doubt if it is good and correct. People who disbelieve so are called Kafir. Things which Allahu ta'ala clearly commands in the Qur'an al-karim are called Fard. Things which He clearly forbids and prohibits by saying "don't" are called Haram. Things which Allahu ta'ala doesn't clearly command but which are acts our Prophet praised or which he habitually did or which he did not prohibit, though seeing them done, are called Sunnat. It is kufr (disbelief) to dislike the sunnat. It is not a sin not to do them, as long as you like them. Those things which are not liked by him, and which also eradicate the blessings of worships are called Makruh. The things which are neither commanded nor prohibited are called Mubah. All these commands and prohibitions are called Shariat or Afal-i mukallafin or Ahkam-i Islamiyya.

Afal-i mukallafin consists of eight aspects: Fard, wajib, sunnat, mustahab, mubah, haram, makruh, mufsid. Things that are not prohibited, or though prohibited, their prohibition has been abolished through one of the reasons which the Shariat accepts as an excuse, a hindrance or a necessity, are called Halal. All mubahs are halal. For example, it is halal to lie in order to reconcile two Muslims. Everything that is halal may not be mubah. For example, it is not mubah, but it is makruh to go shopping while the adhan is being called. Nevertheless, it is halal. A Muslim crier calls Muslims to pray when it is prayer time; this public announcement is called the adhan. It is fard to learn and know the tenets of iman, and the various fards and harams. Thirty-three fards are well-known. Four of them are basic; to perform namaz, to fast, to give zakat, and to perform hajj (pilgrimage). These four fards together with iman are the basis of Islam. He who has iman and who worships, that is, he who carries out these four fards is called a Muslim or Musliman. He who carries out all four of them and abstains from the haram is a complete Muslim. If one of these is defective or nonexistent, his state of being a Muslim will also be defective. He who does not carry out any of them may be a Mumin (believer), but he is not a true Muslim. Though such an iman protects one in this world only, it is difficult to transmigrate to the Hereafter in possession of this kind of iman. Iman is like a candle. Ahkam-i Islamiyya is like the lantern, the glass globe around the burning candle. The candle and the lantern which contains it represent Islam and Din-i Islam. The candle without the lantern will go out quickly. Islam cannot exist without iman. Therefore, where there is no Islam, there is no iman, either.

Din (religion) means the way prescribed by Allahu ta'ala in order to guide people to endless bliss. The unwholesome ways which people make up under the name of religion are not called religion; they are called irreligiousness and disbelief. Since the time of Hadrat Adam, Allahu ta'ala has sent mankind a religion by means of a prophet every thousand years. These prophets (salawatullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) are called Rasul. On the other hand, in every century, by making the purest person the prophet, He has strengthened the religion through him. These prophets who followed the Rasuls are called Nabi. All the prophets have communicated the same iman; they have asked their ummat to believe in the same things. Yet, since their Shariats, that is, the things that are to be done and avoided through the heart and body, were different, their being Muslims was different.

He who has iman and adapts himself to she Shariat is a Muslim. Those who want to adapt the Shariat to their desires and pleasures are disbelievers. They don't understand that Allahu ta'ala has sent down the Shariat in order to break the desires and pleasures of the nafs and to prevent their excessive indulgence.

Every subsequent Shariat has abolished or changed the Shariat previous to itself. The last and final Shariat that has changed all the Shariats prior to it, which has assimilated all the previous Shariats within itself, and which will never change until the end of the world is Hadrat Muhammad's Shariat. Today, the religion which Allahu ta'ala likes and loves is the Islamic religion, which is based on this Shariat. To those who perform the fard and abstain from the haram, which this Shariat communicates. Allahu ta'ala will bestow blessings and favors in the next world. That is, they will receive thawab (rewards). For those who do not carry out the fards and do not abstain from the harams, there are punishments and suffering in the next world. That is, such people become sinful. The fard performed by those who have no iman will not be accepted. That is, they will not be given rewards. The sunnat performed by the Muslims who don't carry out the fard, that is, who owe a debt to Allahu ta'ala, will not be accepted, and they will not be given rewards. They are not looked upon as having adapted themselves to our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). If a person does all the fards and omits one fard without an excuse, none of his nafila (supererogatory) worships and sunnats of this kind will be given rewards, until he pays this debts of his. Hadith ash-Sharifs declare this clearly as quoted in the book Miftah-un-Najat: "O 'Ali! When the people are busy with the fadail (supererogatory) try to complete the fards." Also, it states at the end of the third fasl (part) of the book Durrat-ul-Fakhira by Imam-i Ghazali: "Allahu ta'ala will not accept the nafila salat of the person who has a debt of qada salat." The book Miftah-un-Najat has already been published by Hakikat Kitabevi in Istanbul. When the mubahs are done with good intentions and with beautiful thoughts, one will receive rewards. When they are done for evil purposes, or if doing them prevents one from performing a fard or causes the delaying of a fard, they will be sins. While the fard and sunnat are being done, if evil thoughts are involved, the debt will be paid and punishment will be averted, but no reward will be obtained. It may be a sin instead. The fard and sunnat of those who commit harams will be acceptable. That is, they have paid their debt, yet they won't receive rewards. The book al-Hadiqa in explaining the hadith: "The worships of people of bidat will not be accepted," says, "The worships of those Muslims who do not abstain from sinning are not accepted, even if they are sahih." A haram cannot be mubah (permitted), even if done with goodwill. In other words, a haram will never be rewarded, and he who commits a haram without an excuse is certainly sinful. He who abstains from the haram and gives it up with goodwill, fearing Allah, will receive rewards. If the doesn't commit a haram for other reasons, he won't receive rewards. He will only escape its sin. It is out of place for those who commit harams to say, "You should look at my heart, it is pure. Allahu ta'ala looks at the heart only." It is nonsensical. This is only said to deceive Muslims. It is written in the thirty-ninth letter [of Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani] that the symptom of a heart's purity is in adhering to the Shariat, that is, obeying its commands and prohibitions. The book Hadiqa and Shirat ul-Islam, on its 246 th page, while explaining taqwa says, "Committing the harams with good intentions does not deliver them from being harams. A good intention does not affect either the harams or the makruhs. It does not change them into taat."

It is written on the seventy-third page of the book Mirat-ul-maqasid concerning an intention for an abdast (ritual ablution, wudu) in Ibni Abidin (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) and on the fifty-fourth page in the translation of Milal-Nihal that there are three kinds of actions: The first is, masiyyat, that is, sinful actions. These are the actions which Allahu ta'ala dislikes. It is masiyyat not to do what Allahu ta'ala has ordered to be done, or to do what He has prohibited. The second one is taat, those actions which Allahu ta'ala likes. These are also called Hasana. He has promised that He will give Ajr, that is, Thawab (blessings) to a Muslim who performs taat. The third group of actions are called Mubah, which have not been declared to be sinful or taat. They are taat or sinful depending on the intention of the person who does them.

Sins are not exempted from being sins if they are committed with or without a good intention. The hadith "Actions are good or bad depending on the intention," declares that the taat and mubah actions will be given rewards in accordance with the intention. If a person, in order to please someone, offends another person, or if he gives alms with someone else's property, or if he builds mosques or schools with haram money, he won't be given rewards. It will be ignorant to expect rewards for these efforts. Cruelty and sins are still sins even if they are committed with a goodwill. It is blessed not to do such actions. If one does them knowing that they are sins, it will become a grave sin. If one does them without knowing, it will be a sin also not to know or not to learn the things that are known by most Muslims. Even in Dar-ul-harb it is not an excuse, but a sin, not to know the Islamic rules which are common. When the taats are done without an intention or intended for Allah's sake, blessings are given.

When one does a taat, it will be accepted whether one knows or not that one is doing it for Allah's sake. If a person does a taat knowing that he does it for Allah's sake, it is called Qurbat. While doing an action which is qurbat, one does not have to intend so that rewards will be given. The taat in which it is necessary to intend for Allah's sake so that rewards are given is called Ibadat (worshipping). The abdast (ritual ablution) that is performed without an intention is not an act of worshipping, but it is qurbat. However, one has cleaned oneself and can perform namaz. It is understood that every worship is qurbat and taat. Reading the Qur'an al-karim, donating property to a religious foundation, emancipating a slave, giving alms, making a wudu' (in the Hanafi Madhhab) and the like, since an intention is not necessary in order to receive blessings, they are taat and qurbat. Yet they are not acts of worship. While doing an action which is taat or qurbat, if one intends for Allah's sake, one has done an act of worship. However, these are not commanded as worships. It is not qurbat, but it is taat to learn such branches of knowledge as physics, chemistry, biology and astronomy, which help men to know Allah. Unbelievers comprehend Allah's existence, not while learning them, but after learning them. It is a sin to perform any taat with a bad intention. Beautiful thoughts increase the reward of a taat. For example, it is a taat to be in a mosque. It will be more rewarding if one intends to visit the House of Allah, thinking that the mosque is the House of Allah. Also, if one intends to wait for the next prayer or stays inside the mosque to prevent the eyes and ears from committing sins or goes into seclusion to think about the next world or to mention Allah's name in a mosque or perform amr-i maruf and nahy-i munkar to teach the people about Allah's commands and prohibitions or to listen to the preaching of others or to strive to feel embarrassment before Allah, one will receive different rewards for each act, depending on one's intention. Every taat has various intentions and rewards. Ibni Abidin (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) explains these while explaining how to send a proxy to Mecca for pilgrimage.

Every mubah is a taat when done with goodwill. It is a sin when done with ill will. If a person uses perfumes, dresses well and smartly in order to enjoy worldly benefits, to make a show, to boast, to cherish himself or to hunt girls and women, he will be sinful. He won't be tormented for his intention to enjoy worldly advantages, yet it will cause the blessings of the next world to decrease. He will be tormented for his other intentions. If this person dresses smartly and uses perfumes because it is a sunnat, if he intends to pay reverence to a mosque and not to hurt the Muslims who sit by him in the mosque, to be clean, to be healthy, to protect Islam's dignity and honor, he receives different rewards for teach of these intentions of his. Some scholars say that one shouldn't forget to make an intention for every mubah action, even before eating, drinking, sleeping and going to the water-closet. One should be careful about one's intention when beginning a mubah action. If one's intention is good, one should do that act. If the intention is not only for Allahu ta'ala, one shouldn't do it. It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Allahu ta'ala does not look at your beautiful faces or possessions; He looks at your hearts and deeds." That is, Allahu ta'ala doesn't give anybody rewards or gifts in consideration of his new, clean clothes, good deeds, possessions and rank. He gives him rewards or torments because of his thoughts, or the intention behind his actions.

Then, the thing which is of the highest necessity, which is the most important fard for every Muslim, is learning iman, the fards and the harams. There is no Islam unless these are learned. Iman cannot be maintained, the debts to Allah and to human beings cannot be paid, intentions and morals cannot be corrected and purified unless the basic principles of Islam are learnt. Unless correctly intended, no fard will be accepted. It was declared in a hadith in Durr-ul-Mukhtar: "Learning or teaching knowledge for one hour is more blessed than worshipping until morning." The author of the book Hadarat-ul-quds states on the ninety-ninth page, "I studied the books Bukhari, Mishkat, Hidaya and Sharh-i-mawaqif under Imam-i-Rabbani's supervision. He would encourage young people to acquire knowledge. 'Knowledge first, and tasawwuf next,' he would say. Noticing my shirking from knowledge and taking pleasure from tariqat, he pitied me and advised me, 'Read books! Acquire knowledge! An ignorant sufi will be a plaything in the hands of the devil, [that is, he will fall into disesteem'."

It is called Ibadat (worship) to do the fard and sunnat and to abstain from the haram and makruh, that is, to carry out the rules of Islam in order to attain Allahu ta'ala's love and receive thawab (rewards). There is no worship without an intention. In other words, it is necessary first to have iman and then to learn and carry out the rules of Islam in order to follow Rasulullah (Hadrat Muhammad).

To have iman means to begin following him (Rasulullah) and to enter into the door of happiness. Allahu ta'ala sent him to invite all the people of the world to happiness and declared in the twenty-eighth ayat of Surat-us-Saba': "O my beloved Prophet! (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) I send you to humanity so that you should give the good news of the endless bliss to all the people in the world and to guide them toward this way to happiness."

For example, a little midday sleeping of a person who adapts himself to him is much more valuable than spending many nights worshipping without following him. It was his honorable habit to perform Qaylula, that is to sleep for a while before noon. Also, not fasting on the feast day, but eating and drinking because his Shariat commands it, is more valuable than years of fasting that doesn't exist in his Shariat. A small amount given to the poor according to his Shariat, which is called zakat, is better than giving a pile of gold coins as big as a mountain with one's own wish. After performing a morning prayer in congregation, Hadrat 'Umar, the Amir-ul-Muminin, looked at the congregation and, not seeing one of its members, he asked where he was. His companions said, "He prays until morning at nights. Maybe he fell asleep." The Amir-ul-Muminin said, "I wish he had slept all the night and performed the morning prayer in congregation; it would have been better." Those who have deviated from the Shariat blunt their nafs by subjecting themselves to inconveniences and by striving hard. Yet, this is worthless and low because they don't do it compatibly with the Shariat. The benefit for these efforts of theirs, if there is any, consists of a few worldly advantages. Then, in fact, this world is worthless; therefore, of what could be the value of a part of it? These people are like dustmen; dustmen work harder and become more tired than anybody else, but their wages are lower than anybody else's. As for those who adapt themselves to the Shariat, they are like jewellers, who deal with fine jewels and precious diamonds. They do a little work, but their earnings are great. Sometimes an hour's work provides them a hundred thousand years' earning. The reason for this is that an action compatible with the Shariat is accepted and liked by Allahu ta'ala; He loves it.

[He declares in many places in Qur'an al-karim that this is so. For example, He declares in the thirty-first ayat of Surat-u Al-i 'Imran: "O my beloved Prophet 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam'! Tell them, 'If you love Allahu ta'ala and if you want Allahu ta'ala to love you also, adapt yourselves to me! Allahu ta'ala loves those who adapt themselves to me'."]

Allahu ta'ala does not like any of the things that are incompatible with the Shariat. Is it possible that rewards will be given for the things that are disliked? Maybe they will bring about punishment.

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Chapter-2

To obey Allahu ta'ala, it is necessary to obey His MessengerSalla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam

2 - Allahu ta'ala declares in the Qur'an al-karim, in the eightieth ayat of the Surat-un-Nisa that obedience to Hadrat Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam is obedience to Him. Then, unless His Messenger is obeyed, He will not be obeyed. In order to make it known that this is absolutely certain and clear, He declared in an ayat al-Karima: "Of course, it is certainly so." Thus, giving no opportunity for some people who cannot think properly to see these two orders as being different from each other. Again, stating dissatisfaction with those who see these two orders as being different, in the 150 th and 151 st ayats of sura Nisa in Qur'an al-Karim Allahu ta'ala declares: "The disbelievers want to differentiate Allah's commands from His prophets' commands. They say they believe in certain parts, but not in others. They want to establish a new path between belief and disbelief. All of them are kafir. For all of them we have prepared the torments of Hell with very bitter torments."

Chapter-3

What should be done to be a Muslim. The word "Shahadat"

3 - Attaining endless bliss requires being a Muslim. To be a Muslim, no formality is necessary, such as going to a mufti or imam. It is stated in the twelfth chapter of Maqamat- i-mazhariyya, "It will be enough to say: 'I believe Allahu ta'ala and His Messenger (SAW) and all the messages he (the Prophet) brought from Allahu ta'ala. I love the friends of Allahu ta'ala and His Messenger (SAW), and hate their enemies.' It is scholars' duty to prove every religious teaching with documents and to indicate the ayat al-Karimas and Hadith ash-Shareefs that are its fulcrums. Not every Muslim is encumbered with it." As it is stated in Ibni Abidin's book at the end of the chapter "The disbeliever's marriage": ["It is not a condition for an old man who becomes a Muslim to be circumcised at once. Some 'alims said that it is even permissible not to circumcise him since circumcision does not legitimize the exposing of one's private parts." It is written in the book al-Hadiqa and Bariqa that "Old or unhealthy men who become Muslim will not be circumcised if they can't stand its pain." Doctor Najmuddin Arif bey (1343 [1925 A.D.]) says in his book Amali Jarrahi published in Istanbul, "The Jews circumcise their boys when they are seven days old, but Muslim boys are circumcised at any age. Many Christians in Europe and in the United States have themselves and their boys circumcised thinking that it is good for their health. This is written also in the book Fann-i hitan by doctor Riza Nur bey, who was a deputy of Sinop."


Chapter-4

The Ahl as-Sunnat savants

4 - The first thing necessary for all people is to have iman and the creed of the Ahl as- Sunnat scholars as communicated in their books. It is these scholars who have explained the way of our Prophet Hadrat Muhammad 'alaihis-salam', who have comprehended murad-i ilahi (the divine purpose) of the Qur'an al-karim, and who have extracted the Prophet's (SAW) purpose from the Hadith ash-Shareefs. It is the way shown by them that will save us on the Day of Resurrection. It is the Ahl as-Sunnat scholars who have transferred the way of Allah's Prophet (SAW) and his companions (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain) into books and who have protected them against being changed or defiled.

Chapter-5

The Chief of the Ahl as-Sunnat is Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa

5 - Those scholars in the four Madhabs who reached the grade of Ijtihad and the great scholars educated by them are called the Ahl as-Sunnat scholars. The leader and the founder of the Ahl as-Sunnat is (Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa Numan bin Thabit (radi-Allahu ta'ala anh).

Chapter-6                                                             
                                      Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa

6 - Sahl bin Abdullah Tusturi 'rahmatullahi alaih', one of the great Awliya who has reached the grade of haqiqat (the highest grade in Sufism), says, "If there had been a person like Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) among the ummats of Hadrat Musa and 'Isa, they wouldn't have turned into Jews or Christians." [Awliya are people whom Allah loves.]

Chapter-7

Books of Islamic savants

7 - Millions of books written by this great leader and by hundreds of his disciple and by thousands of the great people educated by them, correctly spread and make known our Prophet's way all over the world. Today, there is not a city, a village or a person left in the free world that has not heard about the Islam communicated by our Prophet. Upon hearing about Islam, if someone sincerely wants to learn it correctly, Allahu ta'ala promises that He will grant him true knowledge. Today, there are catalogues giving the names of the books on Islam that fill the world's libraries. For example, there are about fifteen thousand names of books and some ten thousand names of authors in the book Kashf-uz-Zunun by Katib Chalabi. This book, in two volumes, is in Arabic. Ismail Pasha from Baghdad wrote two supplementary volumes to this book. Nearly ten thousand names of books and authors exist in these supplementaries. Kashf-uz-Zunun was first printed in 1250 [1835 A.D.] in Leipzig; the upper portion of its pages are written in Arabic, while the lower portions are in Latin. The book was also translated into French in 1112 [1700 A.D.] At exactly the same time it was printed in Egypt, too. Lastly, together with its two supplementaries, it was printed in Arabic in Istanbul between 1360-1366 (1941-1947). The books are in the order of the Arabic alphabet. Four of them were sold at the libraries of the Ministry of Education in Turkey. The two-volume Arabic book Asma-ul-muallifin by Ismail Pasha was printed in Istanbul in 1370 and 1374 (1951 and 1955). In these two volumes, the authors of the books in Kashf-uz-Zunun and its supplementaries are written in the order of the Arabic alphabet and under each name are the books written by the owner of the name. Today, another very useful and valuable book listing only the Arabic Islamic books existing all over the world and their authors and in which library they can be found and at which call number they exist in each country is Carl Brockelmann's German book Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur, which was printed in Leiden in 1362 (1943). The book Miftah-us-saadah by Tashkopruzada Ahmad Effendi (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), the author of the book Shaqayiq-i Numaniyya, which gives the biographies of the scholars educated in the Ottoman Empire, defines and explains nearly five hundred branches of knowledge and gives information about the books written in every branch of knowledge and their writers. His son, Kamaladdin Muhammad, translated this book from Arabic to Turkish. It lists the Islamic savants and their works, and he gave it the name Mawduat-ul-'ulum. This book was printed at the printing office of the newspaper Iqdam in 1313. It is available in bookstores. After seeing Islam's twenty main branches of knowledge and its eighty - one sub - branches and the scholars of these branches and the books which each of them wrote tirelessly and perseverently, an understanding and reasonable person cannot help admiring the great number of Islamic scholars and their skill at diving into the ocean of knowledge.

[In these books of theirs, refuting through documents and argumentation the words of naturalists and materialists and the absurdities which non-Muslims wanted to inject into Islam, they silenced them all, and thus extinguished the fire of instigation and corruption prepared by enemies of the religion. Moreover, exposing the shame of those who tried to give wrong meanings to the Qur'an and who strove to prepare defiled translations with evil intentions, they, on the one hand, clearly wrote all the facts that have to be believed in one by one, and, on the other hand, they very correctly presented to humanity the religious aspect of every event and action that has happened all over the world and that will happen until the end of the world.

The names and biographies of more than eight hundred of Imam al-A'zam Abu Hanifa's 'rahmat-Allahu ta'ala alaih' and those who attended his lectures, are written in books. Five hundred and sixty of these are well known in the knowledge of fiqh, and among these, thirty-six have reached the grade of ijtihad.]

Chapter-8

Writers of made-up interpretations becomes kafir. The Turkish Qur'an!

8 - Every bidat holder has inferred wrong meanings from ayats of Qur'an al-Karim and Hadith ash-Shareefs with covered meanings. Our Prophet 'alaihis-salam' said, "He who gives a false interpretation to the Qur'an according to his own mind, thought and knowledge, and who writes made up interpretations [those opposed to the interpretations which the great men of religion have prepared after learning them from our Prophet (SAW) and from his Ashab] is a kafir." Please read the fiftieth disaster incurred by one's speech, discoursed on in Bariqa. We shouldn't buy or read the false books of interpretations published to make money by those who know nothing of salat and iman; we shouldn't believe their decorated advertisements.

Chapter-9

Which translation of the Qur'an should we depend on?

9 - The valuable and right teachings derived from the Qur'an al-Karim and Hadith ash- Shareefs is only what the [Ahl as-Sunnat] savants understood and explained. Every renegade, every deviant, every man of bidat, and every ignorant person supposes and claims that the way he follows is compatible with the Qur'an al-Karim and hadith ash-Shareefs. For this reason, not every meaning derived from the Qur'an and hadiths is to be accepted and esteemed.

Chapter-10

Thieves of faith ( Iman)

10 - It is impossible to escape torment in the Hereafter for those who deviate as much as a hair's breadth from the creed and Iman communicated by the Ahl as-Sunnat scholars, the great and pious people. It is understood with the intellect, through the Qur'an al-Karim and hadith ash-Shareefs and with the great religious men's perceptions through the heart that this is so. There cannot be a mistake in this. Words and books of those who deviate as much as a hair's breadth from what these great people communicated in their books are poisons. Those who use the religion as a means in order to earn worldly benefits and who, after introducing themselves as men of religion, write down whatever occurs to their minds are thieves of the religion. They steal the beliefs of those who read their books and magazines. Those who believe them think of themselves as Muslims and perform namaz. However, because their Iman has been stolen and lost, none of their prayers, worships nor good deeds are accepted or will be of value in the next world.

Concerning those who sell their religion for the world, Allahu ta'ala revealed the sixteenth Ayat of Surat Al-Baqara: "The ignorant idiots gave away their religion in order to get the pleasures and enjoyment of the world. Selling out their next world, they received the world and what their lusts desired. Abandoning the way to salvation, they ran after perdition. They earned nothing in this act of buying and selling of theirs. They didn't know the way of trading or earning. They lost a great deal."

Chapter-11 
                                The things which cause one to lose the faith

11 - Attaining happiness in both worlds depends only, and only upon following Hadrat Muhammad ('alaihi's-salam), who is the master of this and the next world. In order to follow him, it is necessary to have iman and to learn and to carry out the rules of Islam. The symbol of true iman's existence in the heart is to bear hostility against disbelievers and to annihilate the things that are peculiar to them and that are the symptoms of disbelief. For Islam and kufr are opposites, antonyms of each other. Where one of them exists, the other cannot stay and goes away. These two opposite things cannot stay in the same place together. To esteem one of them means to insult, to blame the other. Allahu ta'ala commands Hadrat Muhammad, His beloved Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam), who has the attribute khulk-i azim and who is very merciful, to perform jihad, to wage war against disbelievers and to treat them severely. This means to say that it is khulk-i azim to behave severely towards disbelievers. The dignity and honor of Islam is in insulting disbelief and disbelievers. He who glorifies and respects disbelievers insults and dishonors the Muslims. [Declaring in the Qur'an, in the one hundred and forty-ninth ayat of Surat-u Al-i 'Imran that those who esteem and follow disbelievers are wrong and will repent, Allahu ta'ala says, "O those who believe my beloved Prophet! If you, believing the words of disbelievers, deviate from the way of my Messenger, and if you, taken in by the lurid and mendacious statements of those who pretend to be Muslims, let your faith and iman be stolen, you will be at a loss in this and the next world."]

Allahu ta'ala declares that disbelievers are His and His Prophet's (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) enemies. To love the enemies of Allahu ta'ala and to cooperate with them draws one towards being hostile against Allahu ta'ala and His Prophet. A person thinks of himself as a Muslim, expresses the word tawhid, and says, "I believe," and performs namaz and every kind of worship, but, on the other hand, cooperates with disbelievers. Yet he does not know that these loathsome actions of his will extirpate his being a Muslim and his iman.

[Disbelievers are people who dislike the Islamic religion of the Messenger of Allah and who say that it doesn't correspond with our age, the age and science, and renegades who publicly and basely make fun of Muslims and Islam. Because remaining outside Islam befits their pleasures, lusts and inner secret desires, they call it "retrogression" to be a Muslim. They call disbelief and irreligiousness "modernism, civilization and enlightenment." Murtads (renegades) are people who were born from Muslim parents and yet who know nothing of Islam. These people haven't read or understood any books by any Islamic scholar, dislike Islam and, being seized by the present-day current, say that Islam prevents progress, only in order to obtain a favor, some sympathy or something worldly.

Some of them, in order to deceive innocent children, say, "In Islam everything ends in 'said so'. It is always based upon 'said so' by saying, 'It has been said by so and so.' It is not based upon a document or a voucher, whereas other branches of knowledge are proved and are based on documents." These words of theirs manifest how ignorant they are. They have never read an Islamic book at all. Fantasizing in their imaginations something under the name of Islam, they presume that Islam is nothing but these thoughts of theirs. They don't know that the branches of knowledge and science, proofs and documents, which they consider as different and far away from Islam, are each a section, a branch of Islam. For example, all of the scientific knowledge, the books of physics, chemistry and biology that are taught in high schools today say in their initial pages, "The essence of our lesson is observation, examination and experimentation." That is, these three things are the basis of scientific knowledge. In fact, all these three are the things which Islam commands. That is, our religion commands us to learn scientific knowledge. In many places of the Qur'an al- karim, we are commanded to see and observe nature, that is, all creatures, living and lifeless beings. One day his Ashab al-kiram 'alaihim-ur-ridwan' asked our Prophet, "Some of us who have been to Yaman saw that they budded the date trees in a different way and got better dates. Shall we bud our trees in Medina as our fathers have been doing or as we have seen them do in Yaman, thus getting better and more plentiful dates?" Rasulullah could have answered them, "Wait a bit! When Hadrat Jabrail (Gabriel) comes, I will ask him and tell you what I learn," or "I must think for a while; when Allahu ta'ala lets my heart know the truth, I will tell you." He didn't. Instead, he said, "Try it! Bud some of the trees with your father's method, and others with the method you saw being used in Yaman! Then always use the method which gives better dates!" In other words, he commanded us to experiment and to rely on experimentation, which is the basis of science. He could have learned it from the angel or no doubt, it might have materialized in his blessed heart. But he pointed out that all over the world Muslims who will exist until the end of the world should rely on experimentation and science. The event about budding the date trees is written in Kimya-i se'adet and also on the hundred and eighteenth page of Marifatnama. Islam emphatically commands every kind of work, working in all the branches of science, on knowledge and morals. It is written in books that all these efforts are fard-i kifaya (a fard which is no longer an obligation for other Muslims when one Muslim does it. That is, when one Muslim does it, the others don't have to do it any longer). Moreover, if a tool or a means newly discovered by science is not produced in an Islamic country, and if any Muslim suffers harm for his reason, the administrators, the authorities of that country, are held responsible according to Islam. It was declared in a hadith, "Teach your sons how to swim and how to shoot arrows! What a beautiful amusement it is for women to spin threads in their homes." This hadith commands us to procure every kind of knowledge and weaponry necessary for war, never to remain idle, and to find useful amusements. Today, it is for this reason that it is fard for a Muslim nation to make atomic bombs and artificial satellites. By doing so, Islam will be known all over the world. Not striving to make them will be a grave sin.

The knowledge which Muslims have to acquire and learn is called "Ulum-i Islamiyya" (Islamic knowledges). It is fard to learn some of this knowledge. It is sunnat to learn some other branches of it, and it is mubah to learn even more of it. Islamic knowledge is mainly divided into two branches. The first one is Ulum-i naqliyya. This is also called "religious knowledge." This originates from four sources called "Adilla-i Shariyya." Religious knowledge is also divided into two: the Zahiri (external) branches of knowledge and the batini (internal) branches of knowledge. The first ones are called the Knowledge of fiqh or Shariat; the second ones are called the knowledge of tasawwuf (sufism) or Marifat. The Shariat is learned through murshids and through the books of fiqh. Marifat goes into hearts after flowing from murshids' hearts.

The second branch of Islamic knowledge is Ulum-i 'aqliyya (experimental sciences). The branch dealing with living creatures is called Ulum-i tibbiyya (science of medicine), and the branch dealing with non-living creatures is called Ulum-i hikemiyya. The branch dealing with the sky and stars is called Ulum-i falakiyya. The knowledge dealing with the earth is called Ulum-i tabiiyya. The subdivisions of Ulum-i 'aqliyya are mathematics, logic and experimental knowledge. They are acquired by perceiving through the five senses, by observing through the mind, experimentation and calculation. These fields of knowledge help us to understand and better carry out religious knowledge. They are necessary for this reason. They change, increase and improve in the course of time. For this reason, it has been said, "Takmil-i sina'at is fulfilled by talahuk-i afkar," which means that "improvement in arts, science and technology is realized by adding to one another's ideas and experiments."

The knowledge which is acquired through tradition, that is, religious knowledge, is very exalted. It is beyond and above the mind, the power of human brains. It can never be changed by any person at any time, and this is the meaning of the statement, "There can be no reform in the religion." Islam has not prohibited or limited the knowledge which is acquired through the mind; yet it has commanded us to learn it together with religious knowledge and to utilize its results compatibly with the Shariat. It has also commanded us to make it useful for people and not to use it as a medium for cruelty, torture and disasters. Muslims made and used many scientific productions. The compass was invented in 687 [1288 A.D.]. The rifle with a trigger was invented in 1282 [1866 A.D.]. The cannon was invented in 762 and used by Sultan Muhammad, the conqueror. Islam prohibits the teaching and learning of immorality, false history and lies against Islam, which enemies of Islam, enemies of morality, put forward as education and give the name "lessons" or "duties". Islam wants useful and good things to be learned and abstinence from bad and harmful propaganda.

Islam is a religion which encourages every branch of knowledge, every branch of science and every sort of experimentation. Muslims like science and believe in the experiments of the men of science. But, they cannot be deceived by the slanders and lies of false scientists, who introduce themselves as scientists.] Disbelievers destroy and annihilate Muslims when they are able. Or, they mislead Muslims onto a path which they have made up.

As a matter of fact, it is written on the hundred and second page of the minutes of a meeting held by Masons in 1900, "It is not enough to overcome the pious and their temples. Our ultimate purpose is to annihilate religions."

Publicly and shamelessly they reveal their hostility in their books and speeches. Knowing nothing about knowledge and science, they say childish things. For example, they say, "Ancient people were ignorant; being defenseless and weak against natural forces, they believed in imaginary things. They exposed their inferiority by worshipping and begging things which they themselves had made. However, we are in the atomic age today. Dominating nature, we can do whatever we want. There is nothing other than natural powers. Paradise, Hell, genies and angels are things fabled by ancient people. Is there anyone who has gone and seen them? Can anyone believe things that are not seen or experienced?" These words of the irreligious show that they know nothing of history either. In the course of history, ignorant people in each century thought of themselves as wise and learned, and the people coming before them as ignorant. Since Hadrat Adam, they have changed and denied the religions revealed in every century by saying that they are the words of ignorant primitive people. Such assertions made by disbelievers are quoted, and answered in many parts of the Qur'an al-karim. For example, He says after the thirtieth ayat of Surat-ul-Muminun, "They didn't believe Hadrat Nuh (Noah), so We drowned them in water. For the people We had created after them, We sent a Prophet from amongst them and said, 'Worship Allahu ta'ala. There is nobody other than Him to be worshipped. Fear His torment!' Many of those who didn't obey, who didn't believe in the resurrection after death, and yet whom we had given plenty of worldly blessings, said to others, 'This Prophet eats and drinks like you. If you believe someone who needs many things like you, you will be deceived and suffer a loss. The Prophet tells you that after dying and after your bones have rotted and turned into dust and soil you will be resurrected and get up from your graves. Is that ever possible? Whatever exists is in this world. Paradise and Hell are all in this world. This is the way it has been and this is the way it goes. There is no resurrection after death." In communist countries, in order to demolish the faith and morals of the people, teachers in schools and officers in the army say to the boys, girls and soldiers, "If Allah existed, we would see Him. He would hear us and give us what we want. If you ask me for candy, I will immediately hear you and give you what you want. Ask Him, you see He doesn't respond. Then, He doesn't exist. Your parents are ignorant. They are backwards and old-fashioned. They are retrogressive. But, you are open-minded, modern youngsters. Never believe such superstitions! Paradise, Hell, angels and genies are fables." Through such lies, they try to annihilate youngsters' iman, manners and sense of shame, which they have acquired in their fathers' homes. Deceiving these poor children, they sacrifice youngsters for the sake of their base desires, pleasures and evil earnings. By saying, "Who on earth has seen Paradise and Hell? One simply shouldn't believe things that are not seen." They expose the fact that they follow their organs of perception. However, animals too follow their organs of perception. Imam-i Ghazali says, "Human beings follow reason. Human organs of perception are lower than those of animals. Man cannot smell as well as cats or dogs do. Neither can he see in the dark as well as they do. Moreover, how can one rely on one's eyes in everything while many times wisdom proves the eyes to be wrong? For example, the eyes, seeing the sun through the window, may consider it smaller than the window; but reason says it is larger than the earth." I wonder if these disbelievers do not believe reason by saying, "We believe what we see; is it possible that the sun is larger than the earth?" No! Here they also believe reason as Muslims do. It is seen that men differ from animals by conducting worldly affairs not according to their perception, but according to their reason. Instead of saying, "We don't believe in the things of the next world," and thus remaining dependent on the organs of perception, why don't they follow their reason and thus become exalted to the degree of being human here, too? Islam declares that human beings will be recreated in the next world and will live eternally, and animals, after having their accounts settled, will be annihilated. By promising human beings an eternal life, it differentiates them from animals. But these disbelievers want to be deprived of eternal life like animals. Today, thousands of medicines, household appliances, industrial and commercial goods, electronic instruments, and war vehicles are manufactured in factories. The majority of them are manufactured after sophisticated calculations and hundreds of experiences are done. Do they say even about one of them that it is self-created? On the one hand, they say all those above-mentioned things have been manufactured consciously and willingly by a certain manufacturer; on the other hand, they claim that so many millions of substances and phenomena that are seen on living and lifeless beings, and new and subtler ones of which are being explored in each century, so that we do not know the structures of most of them yet, are self-created. How can this hypocrisy be explained except as extreme obstinacy or explicit stupidity?

A communist teacher in Russia told his students during the lesson, "I can see you. You can see me, too. This means to say that we exist. The mountains over there exist because we can see them, too. Something non-existent cannot be seen. What we cannot see is not said to exist. My words come from our scientific knowledge. One who is educated and progressive depends on scientific knowledge. Reactionists claim that there is a creator of all the creatures. It is wrong to believe the existence of a creator. It is not compatible with science. It is reactionary to claim the existence of something which cannot be seen." Asking permission to respond, a Turkoman boy said, "Are you talking with your intellect? Since we cannot see the existence of your intellect, it would be incompatible with science to accept that you have an intellect and that you are talking with it." The teacher was unable to answer these statements and kicked him out of the class after beating him harshly with a hatred arising from defeat. The boy was never seen again.

Today, there are two kinds of disbelievers in the world. First there are disbelievers with a holy book (people of the book). They are Jews and Christians. They believe in Resurrection and in eternal life after death.

Second, there are disbelievers without a holy book, that is, mushriks who do not believe in one Allah, who makes everything. Some of these disbelievers, by using State oppression, cruelty and torture, prohibit worshipping, and the teaching of religion. And some of them, through words that provoke feelings of goodness and humanity, cause others to fall into debauchery. They also cause them to be deprived of moral and religious knowledge. Putting forth false stories and mendacious examples, they deceive millions of people. They train them as religiously ignorant people. In other words, on the one hand, they talk about civilization, science and human rights, and, on the other hand, they animalize human beings.

The people of Europe and America have holy books. Copernicus, the founder of modern astronomy, was a priest in Freienburg. Bacon, the great physicist of England, was a priest belonging to the Franciscan Church. The famous French physicist Pascal was a priest and wrote religious books while exploring the laws of physics and geometry. The famous Richelieu, who was France's greatest prime minister and the one who brought France to the leading position in Europe, was a high ranking clergyman. Also Schiller, the great German doctor and poet, was a priest. Bergson, the French thinker and a world-famous philosopher, in his books defended spirituality against the attacks of materialists. Those who read his books MatlÅre et MÅmomiera, Les deux Sources de la Morale et de la Religion and Essai sur les DonnÄes ImmÄdiates de la Conscience will eagerly believe in religion and the next world.

William James, the great American philosopher, founded the sect of pragmatism; and in his book Religious Experiments and others, he praised being a believer. French doctor Pasteur, who had studied on infectious diseases, bacteria and various vaccinations, willed that his funeral be performed with a religious ceremony. Finally, F.D. Roosevelt, an American President, who administered the world in the Second World War, and the British Prime Minister Churchill were Christian believers. Many scientists and politicians, whose names we cannot remember, were all persons who believed in the Creator, the next world, and angels. Who can ever claim that those who disbelieve are wiser than these people? They would have been good Muslims if they had seen and read Islamic books. But reading, even touching, Islamic books was prohibited and even deemed a grave sin by their priests. Those priests prevented people from attaining happiness both in the world and in the Hereafter. Please see the twenty-sixth chapter, about Social Justice, Socialism, and Capitalism, in the Second Part (of the Turkish version).

Imam-i Ali (radi-Allahu 'anh), said "Muslims believe in the next world. Disbelievers without a holy book deny it. If there weren't a resurrection, disbelievers would not gain anything and Muslims would not suffer any harm. But since what disbelievers believe will not happen, they will suffer eternal torment." Islamic scholars prove their words true and respond to the attacks of disbelievers through reason, knowledge and science. Could Resurrection be denied if Muslims did not prove their words to be true? Even if being under eternal torment were only a probability, whichever wisdom would risk it? Nevertheless, torments in the next world are not only a probability, but an obvious fact. Then, it is unwise not to believe.

And some enemies of Islam, seeing that through reason and knowledge they won't be able to vitiate the sound iman of the people and that they only display their own disgrace, resort to tricks and lies. They pretend to be Muslims, write false articles that seem to like and praise Islam; but in these articles and words of theirs, by disputing the essential and basic principles of Islam, they cast a bad light on them as if they were not a part of Islam. They try to alienate and estrange the readers and audience from them. Thinking of the times for, amounts of, and kinds of worships, which Allahu ta'ala has commanded as inappropriate, they believe it would be better if worships were done in another way. Knowing nothing of the delicacies, uses and values that are hidden in the inner soul of worships, they consider them as a medium for simple and primitive functions; and they act as if they are trying to correct them. It is a defect in men not to know something; it is all the more funny and pathetic to interfere with something that one doesn't understand. And the Muslims who obey and believe such ignorant people, supposing them to be wise are even poorer and more stupid. And some of these insidious and ignorant disbelievers say, "Yes, Islam commands developing good habits, being healthy, working hard, and it prohibits evils and matures people. These are necessary for every nation. Yet there are also social rules, the rights of family and community in Islam. These were established in accordance with the circumstances of ancient times. Today, nations have grown larger, circumstances have changed and needs have increased. New rules and laws are necessary to meet today's technical and social improvements. Rules in the Qur'an cannot meet these needs." Such words are the absurd and out-of-place thoughts of the ignorant who do not know of Islamic laws and Islamic knowledge. Islam has declared clearly what justice and cruelty are, what rights and duties people have towards one another, families and neighbors towards one another, people towards the government, and governments towards one another. Islam states what a crime is, and it has put basic rules upon these unchangeable concepts. It has not limited the practicing of these unchangeable rules on all events and happenings, but has commanded them to be practiced according to common usage. In the book Durar-ul- Hukkam, an explanation of Majalla, from article 36 onward, it is written: "The rules depending upon a Nass (Ayat-i karimas or Hadith ash-Sharifs with clear meanings) or a Dalil (proof) do not change in the course of time; however, the rules depending upon customs and common usage may change with time. The Hukm-i Kulli (general rule) does not change, but its application to events may change in time. In worship, 'common usage' becomes dalil in order to give clarity and to inform people of a rule which is not declared by a Nass. To classify a custom as 'common usage', it must originate from the time of the Sahaba-i Kiram, and it must be known that it has been used by the Mujtahids and that it has continued to be used. In the rules of Muamalat (transactions), the customs prevailing in a region which don't contradict a Nass also become dalil. These can be understood by the 'alims of fiqh. Allahu ta'ala has established the Islamic religion in such a manner that it addresses every new development and invention in every country. Showing toleration and indulgence not only in social life, but also in worships, the Islamic religion has given men freedom and the right of ijtihad when confronted with different conditions and necessities. During the times of Hadrat 'Umar, the Umayyads and in such a big empire as the Ottoman Empire, large communities of various peoples, spread over continents, were administered with these divine rules. Muslim accomplishments and glories have been famous throughout history. And in the future, every nation, big or small, will attain comfort, peace and happiness in proportion to the extent to which it obeys and practices these unchangeable divine rules. Nations and societies which deviate from the social and economic rules declared by Islam will not escape hardships, suffering and calamity. It is written in history that this has been so with nations in the past, and so will it certainly be in the future. History is repetitive.

Muslims should attach great importance to national unity and solidarity; they should be extremely active materially and morally in making their country stronger; they should learn the teachings of the Islamic religion very well; they should abstain from the harams; and they should pay their debts to Allahu ta'ala and His born servants. They should be ornamented with the beautiful morals of Islam and should not cause harm to anybody. They should not be a means of agitation or anarchy, and they should pay their taxes. Our religion, Islam, wants us to behave in such a manner. The first obligation of a Muslim is to abstain from being guilty according to the law and from sinning by not following Satan or one's nafs, and by not believing bad, insidious, disobeying and revolting people. Allahu ta'ala imposed three obligations on His human beings. The first one is a personal obligation. Every Muslim must be well trained, healthy, well mannered, and good tempered. He must perform his ibadats and learn ilm, high-morality, and he must work for halal sustenance. The second obligation is to be carried out within the family. One must observe the rights of his father, mother, children, brothers and sisters. The third obligation concerns those which must be performed within the context of the society. These are the obligations relating to a Muslim's neighbors, teachers, family, the persons employed by him, the government, the state, and the people belonging to different religions and nationalities. It is a must to help everyone, not to insult anybody by saying something evil, not to hurt anyone, to be helpful towards everybody, not to revolt against the state, the government, the laws, to observe everybody's rights, and to pay taxes promptly. Allahu ta'ala did not order us to interfere with governmental and state affairs. Allahu ta'ala ordered us to help the government, not to incite trouble.]

Then, Muslims should feel haya (bashful) towards Allahu ta'ala. Haya is from iman. The bashfulness peculiar to a Muslim is indispensably necessary. It is a must to abhor and believe as wrong and harmful the disbelievers and disbelief and everything outside of Islam, no matter what theory or ideology it is. Allahu ta'ala has commanded us to take jizya from disbelievers; that is, they must pay taxes. The purpose of this is to insult them. This type of insulting is so effective that they cannot wear valuable suits, nor can they adorn themselves out of the fear of having to pay more jizya. They lead a despicable and miserable life. The purpose of jizya is to offend and disgrace disbelievers. The jizya shows the glory and honor of Islam. If the zimmi converted to Islam, he would no longer have to pay jizya. The symptom of iman's existence in a heart is that it dislikes disbelievers. [Disliking is done by the heart. We should live in harmony with disbelievers or any others; we should not cause harm to anybody.]

[Temporary co-operation with disbelievers can be formed only politically and when necessity requires it. Yet this shouldn't go as far as to unite with them, and it should end when the necessity is over.

Question: "We should not distrust or have a bad opinion of anybody; we should not look at his words and actions exposing his disbelief, but those indicating his iman. Iman exists in the heart. Allah knows if there is iman in a heart. No one else knows it. He who says 'disbeliever' about a person with iman in his heart becomes a disbeliever himself. We should regard everybody as a Muslim and love everybody who does not openly speak ill of Islam," is said. Is this point of view correct?

Answer: It is wrong to say we shouldn't distrust anybody. Its correct form is "We shouldn't distrust a Muslim." In other words, when a person, who says that he is Muslim and does not express a word or does not do an action rendering him a disbeliever, says or does something which may mean belief as well as disbelief, we should understand it as belief, and we should not say that he has dissented from the religion. But when a person strives to demolish the religion and to make youngsters kafir, or if he, saying "good" about one of the harams, tries to make it popular so that everybody commits it, or if he says that one of Allahu ta'ala's commands is retrogressive and harmful, he is called "kafir"." Even if he says that he is a Muslim, performs namaz (ritual prayer) and goes on a hajj (pilgrimage), he is still called a Zindiq. It would be stupidity to regard such hypocritical persons, who deceive Muslims, as Muslims.]

Allahu ta'ala in the twenty-eighth ayat of Surat-ut-Tawba of the Qur'an al-karim says, "Najas and rijs," that is, "foul," about disbelievers. Then, disbelief should be foul and base in the eyes of Muslims. Allahu ta'ala declares in the fourteenth ayat of Surat-ur Rad and in the fiftieth ayat of surat-ul Mumin, "The prayers of these enemies are without a result. There is no possibility of them being accepted."

Allahu ta'ala and His Prophet are pleased with Muslims. There cannot be a greater blessing than attaining Allah's consent and love.

As iman and kufr are opposite one another, so are this world and the next. This world and the next world cannot stay together. In order to earn the next world it is necessary to abandon this world, that is, the harams. Abandoning this world can be done in two ways. Firstly, it is to abandon the mubah, that is, many of the activities that are not sins, together with all the things that are haram, and to use as many of the mubahs as is only necessary to live. [In other words, it is to abandon the habits of being lazy or idle and/or diving into pleasures, dissipations and amusements of the world. Instead, we must spend our time worshipping, while making and using the most advanced forms of technology that are necessary for the protection and comfort of Muslims. And we must work so that non- Muslims may come to reason. Working for these purposes must be our hobby in this world. All the Ashab of our Prophet and many of our superiors worked in this way. It is very meritorious and very useful to abandon the world in such a way. We say once more that the purpose of this path is to sacrifice all comforts and pleasures in order to do the things which the Islamic religion commands.]

Secondly, it is to abstain from the things that are haram and dubious in this world without abandoning the mubah. Even this kind of abandoning of the world is of value in light of the present world's condition.

Then, it is positively necessary for each Muslim to abstain from the things which the Islamic religion prohibits.

[He who slights the fact that these are haram, that is, he who does not think it is necessary to abstain from them, or, he who does not pay attention to Allahu ta'ala's prohibitions and instead likes them and says 'How nice,' becomes a disbeliever. They will remain in Hell eternally. Those who admit and respect the prohibitions of Allahu ta'ala yet are overcome and deceived by their nafs and commit them but later come to their senses and repent do not become kafir; they do not lose their iman. Such people are called Asi (disobedient) or Fasiq (sinner). Though perhaps they will go to Hell and will be punished because of their sins, they will not remain in Hell eternally but will get out and enter Paradise.]

There are a lot of things which Allahu ta'ala has made mubah, which He has permitted. The value in these is more than that in the haram. Allahu ta'ala likes those who use the mubah. He dislikes those who use the haram. Does a wise and reasonable person spurn the love of his owner and creator for only a temporary pleasure? Besides, the number of things that are haram is very small. The flavors in the haram, exist in the mubahs, too.

[Dunya (world) is the feminine form of adna, i.e., ism-i tafdil (adjective in the superlative degree). Its masdar (infinitive) is either dunuwwun or danatun. When it is derived from the former, it means 'the nearest'. The word dunya in the ayat, 'We have adorned the lowest (nearest to the Earth) heaven with stars giving lights like lamps' is so. It has been used with the second meaning in some places. For instance, it bears the second meaning in the hadith, "Things that are dani, base, are mal'un." That is, the world is mal'un. Despicable things are the nahy-i iqtiza-i and nahy-i gayr-i-iqtizai of Allahu ta'ala, that is, they are haram and makruh. Property was not spoken ill of because Allahu ta'ala considers property a blessing. The evidence for our position is the property of Hadrat Ibrahim Khalil-ur-Rahman ('alaihi's-salam), who is the second most valuable creation of all creatures and humanity. His livestock included half a million heads of cattle that filled up plains and valleys.]

Chapter-12

A symptom of belief in the heart is to obey the Shariat

12- It is very easy not to commit a haram and to carry out the rules of Islam. It seems difficult to the sick-hearted. Yes, there are many jobs that are easy for healthy people. Yet they are difficult to the sick. The sickness of the heart involves not believing in the Shariat entirely. Even if such people say that they believe, it is not a real confirmation. It is a confirmation through words. A symptom that indicates the existence of a real confirmation, true iman in the heart, is to feel it easy to walk along the path of the Shariat.

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Chapter 13
                          Allah's worldly blessings are for everybody

13 - Allahu ta'ala gives favors, blessings, gifts that is, His kindness reach everybody every moment, no matter whether he is good or evil. Without discriminating, He sends everybody property, children, food, the right way to Islam, guidance, safety, and every goodness.

The difference is in the way people accept and receive Allah's gifts, or in their not being able to receive them. It is declared in the thirty-third Ayat of Surat-un-Nahl:

"Allahu ta'ala does not torment or do injustice to His born servants (men). They treat themselves cruelly and torment themselves with their own evil thoughts and loathsome deeds that draw them to torments and sufferings."

As a matter of fact, while the sun shines over the laundryman and over the linen in the same manner, it tans the man's face, while whitening the linen.

[By the same token, though it shines over the apple and over the pepper in the same manner, it reddens and sweetens the apple, yet it reddens and makes bitter the pepper. Though the sweetness and the bitterness are caused by the rays of the sun, the difference between them is not from the sun; it is from themselves. Because Allahu ta'ala pities all people very much, more than a mother's mercy upon her child, He has declared in the Qur'an al-Karim how every person, every family, every society and every nation, all over the world, in each century should act in each of their undertakings, in which way they should run their activities, and what they should abstain from in order to be comfortable in this and the next worlds. The Ahl as-Sunnat scholars learnt all these with their keen insight, and, writing millions of books, they communicated them to the whole world. This means to say that Allahu ta'ala has not left people free in their actions. Consequently, there is not a place left on the earth where Islam has not been conveyed. Islam cannot be separated from world